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Penny R
Childminder
Hounslow

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5 stars

Simply outstanding

Reviewed

My 3.5 years old son has flourished since going to Penny. He has developed wonderful friendships, his communication skills have improved massively, his confidence has grown, his eating issues have disappeared, he is happy and therefore his behaviour is better than ever. And this is not by chance, it is only due to the hard work, dedication, compassion and understanding that Penny and her assistant have taken the time to give to my son.


Penny has created a warm, nurturing, safe and genuinely loving environment in which my son has blossomed. She is engaging, creates a love for exploring and a thirst for learning whilst playing and having fun. Penny is unique in her style and my son bounces to go to her home every day. Her quality and standards are very high; she provides positive feedbacks throughout the day with pictures and notes to update me on how my son is doing. She deals with any issues on the spot, promptly and reassuringly and uses age appropriate systems to ensure that he learns and understands if he has misbehaved for e.g. she has a fantastic thinking mat where he can go and sit for a minute to think about his actions if he misbehaves, after which he gets a cuddle from Penny and continues for the day.
She gives her full attention to him. She provides a very nurturing environment where manners, courtesy and respect are highly valued and consistently encouraged. Penny has high expectations of the children's behaviour which in turn helps my son with behaving really well as he responds very well with the positive praise that she constantly gives him.


Penny goes the extra mile in the things she does which is what makes her outstanding. For e.g. my son never ate a morsel of food nor drank a sip of water in his previous care setting which he attended for almost a year. When he started at Penny, she took her time, patience and used her expertise to encourage him to eat and drink. She positively motivated him to sit on the table with his peers to eat and drink which he now does with no issues. As he’s eating and drinking throughout the day, his behaviour has dramatically changed to the better as he’s no longer hungry and grumpy. The day he started eating and drinking, she cheered louder than me. She celebrates every milestone with so much praise and affection. She skilfully uses the opportunities at mealtimes to promote the understanding of the food he is eating which is brilliant as he is motivated to eat well.


She makes everything meaningful; she takes comments on board, asks questions and makes necessary changes to ensure the best interest of my child, for e.g. my son has a passion for books and she got some extra lovely books he can enjoy and captures his imagination and is exciting for him. She encourages literacy as she sits and reads with him for e.g. she will role play with number blocks and alphabets cards and encourage him to recognise them which he thoroughly enjoys.


My son speech and understanding skills have come in leaps and bounds since going to Penny. She places focus on his language skills for e.g she introduces new words and concept at every opportunity which my son loves, retains and repeats. She waits and gives him ample time to talk about his thoughts and ideas which motivates him to speak and understand better. He eagerly and easily talk about why and what.


When it comes to learning, Penny is giving my son experiences that are rich, varied and imaginative. For e.g. she makes sure that the activities that are provided are a mixture of adult-led activities and experiences where my son can lead his own play and explore his own ideas. She encourages my son to be independent in the things that he does such as choosing the toys, books, sharing nicely, taking turns, washing hands, using the toilet, tidying up and taking his food and drinks by himself. She encourages positive attitude to playing and exploring, active learning, and creating. For e.g. he will happily tidy away the toys he played with before moving to the next activity which is only because of her interesting systems of encouragement. She is has been skilfully resourceful in teaching him how to take turn and share with his peers. She encourages a high focus on the natural world for e.g. when a butterly comes into the garden, they observe the colours, wings and chase after it happily. For e.g. she also grows butterflies to encourage keen interest in the nature so the kids can observe the life cycle and how they change.


Penny has access to a large private garden which has been carefully designed with child friendly spaces, which encourages my son to be creative as it holds a lot outdoor toys, a spot for fruits and vegetables growing, water play, which is great for his motor skills and enhances his daily experience with her. Furthermore, she has been a big influence on his learning and development, every day I am amazed and look forward to hear on how well my son is doing. Penny and her assistant are a well-equipped and well-resourced team. They are meticulous in their planning in how to boost his daily experience, which means my son is gaining valuable skills in his early year’s foundation which is so important in preparing him for his school career ahead. She's conscious of his health and safety for e.g. she always ensure that he wears a hat and has suncream on when out playing in the garden to protect him from the exposure of the sun and ensures he gets plenty of fluid so he doesn't get dehydrated. My son gets many worthwhile opportunities to develop and challenge his excellent physical skills. For example, he confidently jumps with both feet now which he couldn't do before and move imaginatively around the garden and plays on the various outdoor toys which helps him.


From a pastoral perspective, Penny has made my son confident and secure and has formed a strong emotional attachment as she treats him as an individual and adapts the activities he does according to his needs. This in turn means he behaves well towards his peers and show care and concern to others for e.g. at home he's now very loving and affectionate with his younger sibling.


Penny provides so much more than a warm and comfortable environment. She is reliable, understanding, knowledgeable, experienced and most of all my son has thrived with her as she has given him a high quality of care for his wellbeing. My son has made a huge rate of progress. Most important of everything, she doesn’t stop trying, which is priceless to me as a parent. I highly recommend her to anyone. She's a joy to behold and cherish.

  • 5 stars Overall
  • 5 stars Setting
  • 5 stars Cleanliness
  • 5 stars Food
  • 5 stars Communication

Response from Penny R
Responded

Thank you xx